Police Interceptor recall impacts local agencies

LONOKE, Ark. (KTHV)- The Lonoke County Sheriff's Office is facing a major recall for half of its patrol fleet, including 8 Ford Police Interceptors and 3 ford SUV's.

"The Ford Crown Vics lasted us many, many years- that was a great car. Then they replaced it with this Interceptor and we've just had issues with them," Sheriff John Staley told THV. "They're driving, they back out of the driveway, and the drive shaft breaks. They're sitting in the middle of the road so we've had to have vehicles towed in."

Staley says the department purchased 8 brand new Ford Police Interceptors last year and already 6 of the cars' drive shafts have had to be replaced. Earlier this month, Ford issued a recall for more than 100,000 vehicles including the Police Interceptor for issues with the right-hand half shaft, which is part of the axle. "My fear is they're just going to use the same parts," Staley said. "It's going to happen again unless they re-engineer the drive shaft."

Staley says the department only has 22 vehicles in its patrol fleet, and 11 of them have to be inspected for the recall. "We don't get into many pursuits but when we do that's important," he added. "It's a very major issue for us to pursue someone at high speeds and you have to have a reliable car."